


Solstice

by ILoveItWhenWePlay1950



Category: Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Midnight Sun continuation, POV Edward Cullen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-12 10:09:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29008824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ILoveItWhenWePlay1950/pseuds/ILoveItWhenWePlay1950
Summary: Catch yet another glimpse into the complex mind of Edward Cullen in this continuation of Midnight Sun- New Moon, but through Edward's point of view.
Relationships: Edward Cullen/Bella Swan
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter One

"Alice, we don't have all day!" I call up to her. We aren't going to be late, but I don't care. Today I want to be early, but of course it's also the day that Alice insists on spending twenty minutes making sure everything is perfect.

'Almost...there! Perfect. I'm coming, I'm coming.' I see a vase of roses through her thoughts, which she is precariously placing on a shelf. You can count on Alice to focus on something as trivial as a single vase.

She dances outside to the driveway and gracefully hops in my car. I roll my eyes and speed down the road, anxious to get to school.

"She isn't going to be excited. Don't wish her a happy birthday, I think she had a nightmare last night about it."

"I don't care." I say with a small laugh, knowing that Bella's reaction wouldn't be positive anyways. I know that Bella is going to be stubborn about it. Everyone's attention is going to be on her, to some extent. And any attention of hers is unwelcome.

We arrive at school in minutes, even though the drive was a bit long. I pushed the speeding limits more than usual this morning. Alice quickly prances away towards my other siblings, who were smart enough to reject her request for a ride. I walk out of the car, seeing Bella with a group of her human friends- including Mike Newton. Ugh.

"Happy birthday." I say, and I hear Alice's annoyed thoughts from across the lot.

"Don't remind me." Even in a scowl, her face is quite perfect.

"Your birth is definitely a day to celebrate." If only she knew how much her existence has transformed my life.

"Not for me."

"Eighteen is a little early to be worrying about your age." I laugh. I knew she'd be difficult, but it's just ridiculous at this point.  
"It's one year older than you."

"Bella, I'm ninety."

"True. Maybe I should be creeped out that I'm dating such an old guy."

I smile. "Yes, it's the age that's creepy, not the fact that you're dating a vampire."

I lean down and capture her lips with mine, kissing her gently. Her heartbeat races, her lips exchanging the kiss passionately. I slowly pull away, feeling the fiery pain in my throat rising. The dull ache of thirst I usually feel when around her has become the new normal, but I'm still careful. When we kiss, the pain is much more acute, therefore much more dangerous.

"Class." I nod to the school, trying to keep the grin off my face.

"Right. Class."   
Her cheeks are still flushed when I frown.

I answer Bella's questioning gaze. "Someone wants you."

'Ugh, that smell...Where is it coming from? Whatever, I just want to see Bella. The smell isn't that bad, I guess. Sure hope that guy Edward isn't with her.'

I give Jacob a fake smile as he jogs up to us, noting that he must have grown at least three inches since I last saw him.

"Bella!" He nods to me, and I take the signal and walk a couple of feet away. Jacob probably assumes that they're out of my earshot, but he's dead wrong. I can hear everything within five miles.

"God, Jacob, what are they feeding you on that rez, steroids? You're huge." 

I ignore her eyes wandering over his muscular body. Jacob doesn't seem to notice.

"Wouldn't seem so drastic if you came around more." 'And stopped hanging out with that weirdo. Something about him gives me the creeps…'

"I will, soon. But isn't your school, like, ten miles that way?"

"Just here buying this for the Rabbit. I'm almost done with the rebuild. Gotta come take a ride when it's done." 'And it was a nice opportunity to see you.' "Oh, and hay, happy birthday. Your dad told my dad. So…" He pulls a small dreamcatcher out of his coat pocket.

'Like I could forget your birthday. I wonder if Edward even remembered. Probably not, she doesn't seem to have a gift. She couldn't be that into him, I mean, the dude's as pale as a ghost. And almost as creepy. Besides, I spent two weeks looking for this thing. And he couldn't get her one present? I don't get what she sees in him.'

I take a deep breath and head back in their direction. I don't think I can bear listening to any more of his desperate thoughts.

"The bell's about to ring." I interrupt their conversation and try not to notice that Bella graciously accepted his gift. The bell rings a second later, and I can't help flashing Jacob a somewhat snarky smile.

"Ooh, look at you, all psychic."

"I don't have that particular gift. But I can read a watch. I'm clever that way."

He smiles back, obviously trying to hide his frustration.

Bella steps in between us and gives Jacob's arm an awkward squeeze. I know she hates the tensions between me and him, but sometimes I can't resist.

"Bye, Jake, and thank you." I sling my arm around Bella and walk her towards school as Jacob's thoughts run wild with anger.

"How come Jacob Black gets to give you a gift and I don't?" I try to make the question seem like a joke, but I do want to know.

"He's just a friend." She sounds defensive. Oh how I wish I could read her thoughts sometimes...

"'Friends' don't spend two weeks looking for the perfect dreamcatcher." I usually avoid disturbing anyone's privacy - it's the least I can do for my siblings when they know that their every thought is being heard by me. But when it comes to Jacob, I don't feel bad.

"Stop reading his mind if he bothers you so much." Defensive, again.

"Little hard to tune out." It's the truth...Jacob's thoughts are so pure and clear that it is harder than usual to ignore them.

She laughs- a perfect, effortless sound- but I glance back at Jacob. He's still standing in the parking lot, looking at us. I hold his gaze for a moment.

'Dammit, he caught me staring. Ugh, whatever. I'm out of here.'

I turn away with a slight smile on my face, but I don't think Bella notices. I recognize the steady stream of visions and ecstatic thoughts a moment too late, as I'm sure she knew I would, when Alice appears in front of Bella. A perfectly wrapped gift is in her hands.

"Happy-"

"Shh!"

I wonder why Alice bothered trying to say it. Perhaps to show Bella that she was still thinking of it.

She pulls Bella into a firm hug and whispers "...Birthday." with a smile.

"Alice, didn't I say no gifts?"

"You did. I didn't. I've already seen you open it and guess what? You love it." Alice is telling the truth, though I expected it. I see the vision of Bella's delighted face in her mind.

'You had a vision about my birthday."

"And about the green dress you'll be wearing to your party tonight. Great color on you."

"...My party?"

"Please? It'll be fun."

I exchange a knowing glance with Jasper. He knows what to do. "I...guess I can deal-"

"Great! See ya at seven!"Alice quickly walks away, barely at human speed, before Bella can realize what happened.

"Wait, Jasper, no fair with the mood control." 

Jasper gives a quick apologetic bow before he gets dragged away by an anxious Alice. 

"Vampires. You can't trust them." I say.

I would be lying if I said that I hadn't already thought of leaving. When Bella decided to meet James in Phoenix in an incredibly stupid attempt at a selfless act, I couldn't help but feel personally responsible. If I hadn't taken her to the clearing, they wouldn't have caught her scent. James wouldn't have locked her in as his prey, and she would be perfectly safe. In fact, she'd be much safer if I hadn't met her in general. I knew that it would be better for her if I left, but I couldn't bear to leave her. If anything else happened, I would reevaluate. But as of now, I couldn't leave her. It would be too painful.

The day drags on, as usual. In English, Mr. Berty has us watch Romeo and Juliet. I've watched the play dozens of times, as has Bella, so we occupy the back row of seats and quietly whisper.

"I hate being...celebrated." She pouts.

"Come on, the last real birthday any of us had was Emmett's- I think Bing Crosby was on top of the charts. You'll be helping us feel normal for a night." I try to play the sympathy card. Bella is so selfless that I know she won't agree unless I bring other people into it. How strange it is for her to be so generous and kind that the only way that she would agree to a party being thrown for her is if other people benefited more than she did? She truly is a perfect person.

"There are worse tragedies than a birthday. Look at Romeo. He's responsible for his wife's death. Who could live with that?" I glance at the screen. "Though I do envy him one thing."

"Juliet's alright...if you like that obviously beautiful sort of thing." 

I almost laugh at her ludicrous thought that I was talking about the girl.  
"Not the girl- the suicide. Nearly impossible for my kind. But humans- a little poison, dagger to the heart. There are so many options."

"Why would you even think about that?" She asks, clearly appalled by my response.

I shrug, trying to downplay the sorrow that had enveloped me when I had those thoughts. "I considered it. Once. When James had you trapped." The memory of Bella, laying helpless on the floor, bleeding, runs through my mind. I grimace. "I didn't know if I'd find you in time. If I'd gotten you killed -"

"It wouldn't have been your fault."

"Either way, I had a plan."

"What plan?"

I consider stopping, but I don't. I'm not sure why, but perhaps she deserves to know. "There are...ways for us. At least one way. I would have gone to Italy, provoked the Volturi…"

"The who?" My thoughts of the horrifying royal family of vampires are interrupted by Mr. Berty.

"Is there something you'd like to share with the class, Edward?"

I look towards him, using my best innocent facade. "Certainly not. But I apologize for being a distraction. Perhaps you should rewind to act five, scene one, line twenty-eight eighty-nine. 'If you had the strength of twenty men it would dispatch you straight.'" That should do it.

Sure enough, Mr. Berty swallows hard and clears his throat in embarrassment. "Eyes on the screen, people."

I look back to Bella, hoping to see some sign of amusement from her, but she is too concerned to be entertained by my attempts at embarrassing the teacher. I sigh, knowing that she will continue worrying about our conversation until I bring it up later on.


	2. Chapter 2

“The Volturi are a very old, very powerful family…” I had to practically drag Bella to my house to get her here for the party, but she seems fine with me just talking to her in my father’s office. “They’re the closest thing that my world has to royalty.”  
We stand in front of a large painting depicting Grecian figures draping themselves over pillars and architecture. “Francesco Solimena painted this; he often depicted the Volturi as Gods.” Her ivory fingertips traced one of the figures.  
“Is that...Carlisle?” She asks.  
“Yes. He lived with them for a few decades. He described them as very refined- for killers.” I now know not to sugarcoat anything with Bella. It’s quite bizarre how nothing seems to faze her at this point, but I can’t say that I’m not grateful. “The Volturi are also what you might call enforcers.”  
“Of what?”  
“The only rule they have; to keep secret the existence of our kind. We don’t make spectacles of ourselves, or kill conspicuously, unless we want to die.” No sugarcoating.  
She turns to me suddenly, alarm evident in her face. “Don’t even talk about that. You can’t let anyone hurt you. The Volturi or otherwise.”  
Even though the thought of anyone else hurting me is almost laughable, her worried expression makes me anxious as well. “Who else would hurt me?”  
“You said there were more dangerous things out there than you. And I know you have at least one enemy…” The “u” shaped crease develops between her eyebrows once again. “You said she’d come after you for killing her mate.”  
It takes me a moment to remember who she's talking about- I've tried to block out those memories in the past few weeks. “Victoria? Yes, some day. But Alice will see her coming. And she won’t win.”  
“I hate that I can’t protect you.” She’s clearly quite upset at the idea that she can’t guard me from whatever “dangers” lie ahead of me.  
I still laugh, though.  
“That was me being serious.” Bella's lips fall into a slight pout.  
I lean towards her, gently brushing my lips across her forehead. “I know. But you do protect me…” Her nose. “From boredom…” Her lips. “And loneliness…” Her lips again. “You give me a reason to stay...undead. But it's my job; to protect you…” As I softly kiss her between my words, I feel her hot breath speed up, tickling my face. Her heartbeat seems to be running a marathon as well. She stares up at me, cheeks bright pink.  
'Hurry up!!! We’re ready!' Annoying enthusiasm radiated from Alice’s thoughts. I smile and pull away.  
“...From everyone but my sister.” I finish.  
Alice bursts through the door a moment later, right on time.  
“It’s time, it’s time, it’s time!” She practically sings. Alice drags Bella and I to the steps before Bella can protest. I can tell that she’s about to say something before she is stopped short by the stunning decorations that wait for her below.  
The entire family room floor has been covered with red and pink rose petals, and vases of the flowers cover almost every flat surface in sight. Pink candles provide a relaxing ambiance to the entire set up. It’s gorgeous, and very obviously to the credit of Alice.  
'She looks perfect.' Esme’s thoughts are sweet, as always.  
'Shame to waste all of these roses. Alice just couldn’t resist the excuse for a party.' Rosalie’s bitter nature is also quite normal.  
I lead Bella down the steps, where she is trapped into an embrace by my parents.  
“Sorry about all this. We tried to rein Alice in.” Carlisle says.  
“Like that’s even possible. Happy birthday, Bella.” Esme adds.  
My vision is momentarily interrupted by a flash of light as Alice surprises Bella with a quick picture. I already saw this future in Alice’s mind, of course, but it didn’t prevent Bella from stumbling back slightly.  
“Found it in your bag. Mind?” 'She won’t.'  
I seperate myself from Bella, making my way towards Emmett. He’s standing towards the wall on my left side, a snark grin on his face.  
“Dating an older woman. Hot.” He says with a nudge to my ribs. I return the jab once I realize that Bella is well within earshot. “What?”  
Rosalie makes her way towards Bella, obviously not liking the idea of a party dedicated to her. She holds a perfectly wrapped silver package. “It’s a necklace. Alice picked it out.” 'I don’t want her thinking that I actually got her anything…'  
As Rose walks away, trying to look bored, I return to Bella’s side. I wrap my arms around her gently, never wanting to let go.  
“Show me the love!” Alice interrupts our peaceful moment with another flash of the camera. “For the scrapbook. Now open your presents!”  
She drags a helpless Bella to a table stacked high with gifts and a cake that must be at least a foot tall.  
“Alice, I’m the only one who even eats cake. That thing could feed fifty.” Bella reminds her.  
“Hope you're hungry. Here, this one’s from Emmett.”  
Alice hands her an empty stereo box.  
“Um...thanks?” Bella asks, looking at Emmett.  
“Already installed it in your truck.” He explains.  
“Finally, a decent sound system in that piece of-”  
“No hating on the truck. Thank you, Emmett.” Bella interrupts my snide comment.  
“Mine next.”  
As Alice hands her her gift, Bella’s hand slides against the wrapping paper.  
“Ouch. Papercut.” A single drop of blood drops from her finger to the carpet below us.  
It all happens so fast. Even for a vampire.  
I jerk my head to the side, hearing Jasper’s ravaging thoughts filled with his hunger for the love of my life’s blood. All I see is a split second of his face lunging towards Bella, teeth bared and eyes wild with hunger. The smell of her blood is much more acute when it's just a few steps away, but the scalding thirst that encompasses my throat now is the least of my concerns. I fling her vulnerable human body, pulsing with blood, into the opposite wall. I barely register the sound of her crashing into the glass vases. My only focus is on Jasper, now sprinting towards me. I brace for the impact and we collide in a deafening crack. I knock him back a couple of feet, but he jumps back up, using the back wall as leverage to pounce on Bella. Carlisle, Emmett, and Alice all tackle him before he can launch himself at her, though, and I turn back to Bella.  
“Shh...shh…” Alice starts soothing Jasper, but soon her attention is interrupted by what the rest of us are suddenly frozen by.  
Bella collided with the row of glass bowls lined up on the wooden table across from her, and she now lays in a pool of broken glass and blood. She sees us staring at her, confused. And then she realizes that she is now laying in her own blood, in front of six now ravenous vampires. The smell of her deliciously sweet blood, pulsing through her and now flowing out of her, overtakes my senses momentarily. The perfect nectar that I have been resisting all this time was now right in front of me, and I could drink it in less than a second. Bella wouldn’t even feel much, I could make it quick.  
I snap out of it, reminding myself how meaningless life would be without her in it. Carlisle rushes to Bella’s side, unfazed by her scent.   
“Emmett, get Jasper out of here.” Emmett’s eyes are still locked on Bella. “Emmett.” Carlisle’s stern tone gets Em’s attention, and he quickly escorts Jasper outside. Rosalie follows.  
Esme gives an apologetic look to Bella. 'Oh dear, I’m so sorry...Poor Bella. She’s probably in shock, for crying out loud. I wish I had the same control as Carlisle…' She politely excuses herself and hurries outside with the rest.  
'I’m sorry. I just...can’t see a future where I don’t do anything.' Alice also gives Bella a pitiful look and says “I’m sorry, I...can’t…” I wince at the visions going through Alice’s mind, mostly of her drinking my girlfriend dry.  
“I’ll have to stitch her up.” Carlisle says.  
“I’ll carry her to the kitchen.” I add. I step towards her cautiously, but my thoughts make their way back to her scent again, and I have to pause.  
He notices. “I’ll take care of her, Edward.”   
I stay put.  
“Go check on Jasper. Go.” He uses the same stern tone as earlier, and I too take notice of it.  
Reluctantly, I storm out of the house. Everyone is gathered about a hundred yards away, carefully keeping their distance. I run past them, into the forest. I’m careful not to go too far, though, just so that I can watch over Bella’s recovery through Carlisle’s thoughts.  
Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid. And selfish. I surely am the most selfish person alive, or dead, for that matter. Bringing a human girl into a house full of seven vampires, especially one as clumsy as Bella, was an unforgivable mistake. I shouldn’t have stayed. I should have left and stayed in Denali when it was easier, before I knew her. And now I’ve fallen in love with her, and leaving her is going to be so much harder for both of us. I made my way into her life, and now I have to choose between ending her mortality, killing her, or breaking her heart?   
I rip a tree from the ground, roots and all, and launch it over the treetops in frustration. This was a mistake. I could have stopped this disaster long before it happened, if only I wasn’t so evil. Bella is almost as stupid as I am if she thinks that falling in love with me and staying with me is a good idea. But this isn’t her fault, of course. This was all my doing, and now I will be responsible for breaking this perfect person’s heart. Because I have to leave her.  
After Carlisle confirms that Bella is stitched back together again, Bella and I drive home in silence. A million thoughts run through my head, but I can’t seem to decide what to say. I obviously can’t bring up my consideration of leaving to her, and talking about my guilt is no use, but I can't just pretend to move past it. Finally, she speaks.  
“Say something.”  
“What do you want me to say?” It's an honest question.  
“That I’m a klutz. That I should be more careful-”  
Is she serious? Bella really thinks that I blame her, that I want to be scolding her right now? If this had happened in any other circumstance she would just have a bandaid on her finger and the party would continue. But no, I’ve managed to rope her into a life full of ravenous vampires that put her life at risk every day. “You got a paper cut. Normal people get paper cuts. And a normal boyfriend wouldn’t have flung you into a row of glass vases. A normal boyfriend wouldn’t have to fight off the urge to kill you-” The mention of my thirst makes the flames lick a bit higher in my throat, and I pause my sentence to tame them.  
“Stop. I don’t want normal, I want you.”  
I don't respond out of fear of sounding angry. Thankfully, we pull into her driveway a moment later.  
As soon as the truck comes to a halt, Bella swiftly turns to me. “You can’t protect me from everything - something is going to separate us. An accident, illness, old age, as long as I’m still human…” Her voice trails off.  
“That’s your solution? Me ending your life?” I am never going to turn her. End of conversation. The thought of her dying kills me, of course, but if suffering through her death is an exchange for her normal human life, then so be it.  
“You’re giving me forever.”  
That single sentence almost breaks me down. I would do almost anything to be with this girl sitting in front of me forever, but I know that if I give her what she wants, she would soon realize that being damned to an eternal life is not all that it seems. If she regretted her choice, which she most certainly would, I would be to blame. And I would never be able to forgive myself for that.  
I realize that my face probably shows my inner dilemma when Bella reaches for my hand and tries to meet my gaze.   
“Carlisle told me about how you feel, about my soul, but I don’t believe that-”   
I retreat my hand from hers slightly, hoping she didn’t notice. “You should go in. It’s late.” I get out of the car and flit to her door in an instant to let her out. Thoughts bombard my mind once again, but I make an effort to pay no attention to the idea of leaving her while I’m in her presence. I don’t want to waste what little time I have left with her.  
“I’ll leave my window open for you.”   
I look down at her, my fingertips grazing her cheek. “I won’t be coming back. Not tonight.” I barely whisper the words, as if the quieter I say them, the less true they’ll have to be.  
“Then...can I ask for one thing? It’s still my birthday.”  
I nod solemnly.  
“Kiss me?”  
I fulfill her request, slowly pecking her delicate lips gently, and transitioning to a passionate, urgent, kiss. I try not to think about how many times I will get to kiss her again before I leave as I pull away and walk off into the night.


	3. Chapter Three

I make a slight turn and climb into the tree that I often perch in while watching over Bella, and watch as she gets ready for the night. I notice she still leaves her window open - just in case. I sigh as I pull away from the mesmerizing sight, knowing that I have an important job to do tonight.  
“We need to leave Forks.” I announce to my family moments after my arrival. Alice predicted when I would come and that it would be urgent, so they were all prepared. Or so I thought.  
“What?” Alice asks. “That is not what I saw!” Her mind flashes through memories of the visions she had seconds before, realizing that I must have been purposely switching my decisions on what to say. “Ugh, you are impossible! And why in the world would we leave Forks? Everything is going perfectly! We haven’t had any suspicions, no one has commented on our ages yet, and we have Bella-”  
“Exactly.” I interrupt her frustrated rant.  
Her face transitions from confusion to anger surprisingly fast. She predicted this too. “Why would you leave Bella? She’s perfectly happy here.”  
“But she isn’t safe, Alice. I know you consider her a friend, but it isn’t in her best interest.”   
Alice’s thoughts are basically screaming at me, and I know she’s doing it on purpose, but I sweep the room with my eyes to take in my other family members’ reactions.  
Esme’s eyes and thoughts reflect exactly what I expected; compassion and concern. Emmett is a bit disappointed, and he had quite enjoyed having another sister around, but he was much more understanding than Alice. Jasper is compassionate as well, undoubtedly feeling my remorse for the decision, but there are hints of relief in his thoughts as well. He won't have to hold his breath constantly any more, and I don't really blame him. Carlisle looks sympathetic, but I know that he understands and will do whatever he needed to do to assure his family’s safety. I looked at Rosalie last. She's happy, predictably - she's wanted to kick Bella to the curb the second that we met her - but there is also something else...empathy? I suppose Rose has dealt with many heartbreaks in her past life, and she probably understands what I'm going through, but I am still surprised.  
“Her best interest is you, Edward. You and I both see what's in her future if you leave.” I see blurs of images flashing through Alice’s head, all of them visions of the possible futures she saw. Bella, alone and depressed. Bella screaming in her sleep. Bella crying. Bella breaking.  
I wince away from those images. “She will find,” I hesitate for a moment. “Someone else. She has to. Her safety is the most important thing.”  
Alice thinks of one vision in particular in response to my rebuttal. We are all wearing black, in a cemetery. I kneel, crying, in front of Bella’s grave.  
I snarl at Alice and hurl myself towards her, though she gracefully leaps out of the way in time, as I knew she would. I slam into the wall, breaking a picture frame in the process. It doesn’t hurt at all, of course, but I hear Esme’s annoyed thoughts at my destruction of her precious house.   
“Edward Cullen. Do not blame me for the futures that you have brought upon her. Upon us!” She storms upstairs, Jasper following. He gives me a glare before following her into their bedroom.  
“I think...it’s the right thing to do.” Rosalie reluctantly adds as I get up.  
“Thank you, Rose.” I surprise us both when I respond, but I turn my attention to my parents. “Carlisle? Esme?”  
“Sweetie, are you sure you can leave her? I’ve never seen you so happy...I don’t want to take that happiness away from you.” Memories flood her mind of me smiling and laughing alongside Bella.  
“I can handle it. I’ll be fine. Carlisle, what do you think?”  
“Son, I know that you care a lot about her. And I want you to know that we don’t have to do thi-"  
“No.”  
He sighs. “Ok, then. I will do as you wish. We can leave in a week or so.”  
I give a quick nod and run out the door.   
I come to a stop after about an hour of running, mostly out of frustration. The crisp night air rushing by my face helps clear my head, so by the time I halt my steady sprint at a small clearing, I’m not as furious. My outburst at Alice was inexcusable, and I know I will have to apologize to her later, but I don't necessarily regret it. I don’t want to think about that possibility - any universe without her in it wouldn’t be habitable in my eyes. I laid down on the soft grass, already covered in a light dew. The night sky was a perfect pitch black, dotted with contrasting white specks of star stuff. Perhaps I was the night sky - black, cold, unforgiving. But Bella was the star, bright, kind, and inviting. We were polar opposites, yet she was drawn to me and I to her. It was quite unfair. Both of us were made on this planet totally different, and somehow we ended up connected in an irreversible way. I could only hope that my dark sky didn’t dampen the star’s lovely glow.  
I only notice the passage of time when I realize the black darkness of night has transitioned into the purplish haze of early morning. I sprint back to the house even faster than before, and even though I try to convince myself otherwise, I know it is because I'm getting closer to Bella and not farther. When I arrive at the house, the sun is peeking through the weaving branches of the trees in the horizon, so I quickly change and drive to her house.  
Contrary to my previous journey, I take the car ride nice and slow, abiding by the speed limit. It's extremely rare that I go anywhere under 60, but as I was running back towards Bella I realized that if I only had a limited amount of time left with her, I needed to make the transition as easy as possible. No more watching her peaceful sleep, no more early morning greetings, no more late night conversations. I have to separate myself from her. It'll be easier that way. It will have to be.


End file.
